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Just days after Apple's EU antitrust complaint against Motorola Mobility came to public light, Microsoft joined the battle and levied formal competition charges against Motorola as well. Both tech giants are alleging FRAND (fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory) patent abuse claims against Motorola.

"Motorola has broken its promise," declared Dave Heiner, vice president and deputy general counsel for Microsoft's Corporate Standards & Antitrust Group. "Motorola is on a path to use standard essential patents to kill video on the Web, and Google as its new owner doesn't seem to be willing to change course."

Heiner adds:

"In legal proceedings on both sides of the Atlantic, Motorola is demanding that Microsoft take its products off the market, or else remove their standards-based ability to play video and connect wirelessly. The only basis for these actions is that these products implement industry standards, on which Motorola claims patents. Yet when the industry adopted these standards, we all were counting on Motorola and every contributor to live up to their promises."

The powerful combo of Apple and Microsoft both pressing the issue before the European Union could carry substantial weight in nudging the body to launch a formal investigation.

"If every owner of standard-essential patents behaved like Motorola," writes legal expert Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, "this industry would be in chaos, and grind to a halt. Just in the field of wireless telecommunications standards, there are hundreds of essential portfolios, and Motorola's assertions also include related technologies such as the H.264 video codec."

As of this writing, it isn't yet clear what the EU will do... but it increasingly appears that it will, in fact, do something. And soon.

No Microsoft believes they are owed licensing fees for Android use due to patents. Most every manufacturer of phones have budged and pay them. So the result is Microsoft is making more money off this licensing then the sale of the phones they actually have being sold.

No Microsoft believes they are owed licensing fees for Android use due to patents. Most every manufacturer of phones have budged and pay them. So the result is Microsoft is making more money off this licensing then the sale of the phones they actually have being sold.

Actually no. Microsoft makes more money off of their own mobile operating system. Google makes more from Android.